Under the Stars
by DancingRaindrops
Summary: First meeting? Check. First date? Check. First kiss? Not yet. But Chad's ready to change it. And it's going to be perfect. Or is it? Fluffy Channy, winner of FastReader22's Pick a Number Challenge.


A/N: I'm back, guys! :D Back from vacation, and full of story ideas. I might not have as much time in the coming weeks to write them, but I definitely will. :P I hope you enjoy this one! It's for **FastReader22**'s Pick a Number Challenge. My prompt was **Star**. ;) Enjoy!

**Under the Stars**

Chad knew that every girl's dream was to be kissed in the rain. It was so clichéd that it had become a fixation among teenage girls - the idea that one day, they had to be kissed in the rain to experience true romance.

In Chad's mind, there was no doubt whatsoever that this idea was completely and utterly stupid.

First of all, kissing in the rain meant that both participants were going to get drenched. Soaked. Their clothes would become heavy and discolored, their hair would lose its perfection and become a damp mess, and they could quite possibly get sick.

Not exactly Chad's idea of romance.

But, unfortunately, it was Sonny's.

And Sonny's idea of romance was the type of romance that he was supposed to strive for, since he was her boyfriend.

Or at least, he hoped he was. They had gone out on more than a couple dates, and everyone knew about them (no, really, _everyone_ knew. He had even put up a huge billboard about it. Plus, she had texted her friends). So, yeah, Chad was Sonny's boyfriend.

Which meant that his next step - having already met her, asked her out, and gone on a successful first date (even though it took a second chance to make the first date successful, but that was irrelevant) - was to kiss her.

There were many ways to go about it, Chad knew. Obviously. It wasn't like he hadn't done it before, with other girls.

It could be random. She could be saying something commonplace, and out of the blue, he could simply plant one on her.

It could be romantic. He could plan it out, play cheesy music and give her flowers beforehand.

There were plenty of ways to go about it. But Chad knew that the only way to do it with Sonny was the right way. The perfect way. Whatever her idea of that was.

And Chad knew that Sonny's idea of the perfect kiss was one in the rain.

He knew this for a variety of reasons.

Firstly, Sonny was a romantic at heart. She loved drama and predictable plotlines and the boy finally getting the girl in the end. She loved clichés. And getting kissed in the rain was one of the most common ones.

And Chad had witnessed her love for kisses in the rain firsthand. She had mentioned some lame chick flick to him that he pretended to have watched, and he told her that his favorite scene was the kiss in the rain (he assumed there was one, as any self-respecting cheesy movie did) when she asked.

Sonny had sighed and giggled and put on a wistful smile, all the while saying something about how she'd always wanted to be kissed in the rain and that it had been her favorite scene too (jackpot!).

Another reason was...well, Chad didn't actually have another reason after that. He was somewhat stuck. Which was exactly why he had other people make lists for him, because it was too much tedious work for him.

But anyways. Sonny. Kiss in the rain.

Chad was determined to make it happen.

And, being Chad Dylan Cooper, it was bound to happen, simply because he willed it so.

He should have known that Mother Nature didn't follow orders. Even orders given by extremely popular and attractive TV stars who were planning the best first kiss with their girlfriends ever.

Even those.

Because Mother Nature had decided centuries ago that Hollywood would receive rain very, very rarely. As in, perhaps two weeks out of the whole year. Those two weeks generally fell sometime during the winter.

Which was a problem for Chad, since it was in the middle of summer. In Hollywood.

But, still being Chad Dylan Cooper (Mother Nature and her stubbornness aside), he had a back-up plan that was almost, if not equally, as romantic and perfect and special as Sonny would want their first kiss to be.

Under the stars.

Which was exactly what led to him telling Sonny he would pick her up at eight, packing a picnic basket, and driving her to Lookout Mountain.

Everything was carefully arranged. Chad had thought out every detail, ensuring that the night would be perfect.

Picking her up at eight and taking her to Lookout Mountain was obvious. Sonny had loved Lookout Mountain the last time they went, even commenting on the stars. Yes, the stars at Lookout Mountain were beautiful, bright, and just right as a romantic backdrop.

Not to mention that recreating one of their old dates (no one cared that the other one hadn't been _real_) was totally cheesy. Sonny would love it, Chad just knew it.

Chad also knew that this kind of date wasn't exactly the type that he wanted to be witnessed by a third party (as much as he loved Yoshi, he didn't need his first kiss with Sonny to be spoiled by the Japanese chef pouring more water). Hence the picnic basket.

It had cheese in it, of course, along with crackers. Simple, but easily romantic. He could mention that she had crumbs on her lips, and lean in to brush them away...

But anyways. Cheese and crackers. Seemingly boring, but surprisingly functional. And delicious.

Grapes, because Sonny loved them. And Chad loved to watch her eat them. Sammiches, for the memories (plus, Chad knew how to make an _awesome_ peanut butter and jelly. His mommy had taught him how to). And orange juice, because Chad was _so_ over the water thing.

It was all exactly as he had planned. Perfect.

"Chad?" asked Sonny, her eyes still covered by the blindfold that Chad had tied around her head (the element of surprise!). "Are we there yet? It doesn't feel like we're moving."

"What? Oh, um, yeah. Right. We're here." Chad cleared his throat awkwardly before unbuckling his seatbelt and opening his car door. "Just...hang on a second."

Picnic basket? Check. Blanket? Check. Candle? Check. Matches? Check.

So far, so great. Kiss under the stars was a go. As he unloaded the items from the trunk, Chad hurriedly glanced up at the night sky. Stars? Check.

He decided to ignore the wispy clouds creeping in, deciding that those were insignificant. It would be quick - see the stars, eat, kiss. Then the clouds could come in as much as they wanted to.

Chad struck a match and lit the candle, placing it carefully on the picnic blanket. He positioned the basket at a perfect angle from the candle, allowing it to be slightly illuminated while keeping it from overpowering the small yet bright light. Perhaps if he tilted the basket two degrees to the left...

"Cha-ad," Sonny sing-songed from the front seat of the convertible, becoming somewhat impatient. "What's going on? Can I take this off now?"

"Not yet, milady," answered Chad with a grin as he surveyed his finished work. Perfect. The two degrees made all the difference.

"Miss Sonny Munroe, your dinner awaits." He opened her car door (like a gentleman would, because he was, after all, a gentleman) and helped her carefully step out of the car, untying her blindfold.

"What is - what the - Chad!" Sonny turned to Chad, her mouth agape in disbelief. "What's all this?"

"It's...dinner," he replied uncertainly, disconcerted by her response. "Do you like it? We can go somewhere else if you want. Do you want Chinese? Italian? There's this really great Italian place, like fifteen minutes away. Let's go there, just give me two seconds to pack all this stuff up - "

"Chad!" repeated Sonny, laughing now. "No, it's fine. It's perfect."

"Oh. Right." Chad ceased his rambling and smiled sheepishly at her. "Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. It's wonderful." Taking Chad's hand, Sonny moved to sit on the blanket and opened the lid of the basket.

"Here, let me," offered Chad in an attempt to be chivalrous. He carefully unwrapped the crackers...

Only to find crumbs. Lots and lots of them. Not a single cracker was whole.

"Chad?"

This could work. He could toss all the crumbs over her, and at least a few would stick to her lips. Yes.

"Chad, I don't think those are...exactly edible. They're a little...crumbly," Sonny pointed out as gently as she could.

This was a failure. Who was he kidding? This couldn't work at all. He couldn't even open his mouth to apologize for the failure.

"It's okay, Chad. Come on, let's eat something else." Sonny reached into the basket and pulled out the grapes. The round, red grapes. "These look good. Are they sweet?"

"Of course they're sweet, why would I buy...sour ones..." Chad trailed off as he realized that he hadn't tried one or two from the bunch beforehand. "Wait, Sonny - "

Too late. She had already popped the first one into her mouth and begun chewing it, much to Chad's dismay. An immediate grimace spread across her face, her features twisting as she winced at the taste.

"They're a little sour," Sonny choked out, swallowing quickly. "Just a little."

Chad buried his face in his hands.

"You know, I bet that Italian place is still open," he told the ground, his eyes trained away from Sonny. "Are you sure you don't want to - "

"Chad! Don't be silly. It's no big deal. They're just grapes!" Sonny laughed and shoved him playfully before reaching into the basket again.

"And crackers," he added under his breath as she opened the cheese.

"Um...what kind of cheese is this, Chad?" asked Sonny, ducking her head slightly for some reason that Chad assumed had to do with the evening's failure thus far.

"It's some kind of French cheese that you can spread. Brie, I think. Why?" As he spoke, Chad grabbed the orange juice from the basket and twisted off the cap of the container, gulping the juice down without pouring it into a cup like a civilized person. No, no, no! This wasn't supposed to happen! But he couldn't stop, and the gallon container became lighter and lighter by the second.

"Chad, stop it!" Sonny scolded, taking the container from him forcefully as she leaped to her feet. "What's wrong with you today?"

"What - what's wrong with the cheese?" Chad asked timidly, wiping juice away from the corners of his mouth with his sleeve (because he appeared to have forgotten napkins as well).

"It's just a little too creamy, in my opinion. It doesn't have that sharp, cheesy flavor that I like," explained Sonny, sitting back down and putting the juice in between her crossed legs. "But you didn't answer my question! Why are you so tense? Is something wrong?" Chad blinked a few times before violently knocking over the almost-empty picnic basket in frustration.

"_Is something wrong?_ This whole _evening_ is wrong! It's a complete disaster!" Chad concluded, running a hand through his hair angrily.

"Chad, calm down," Sonny soothed him, taking his hand. "All you need to do is - oh my gosh, get off the blanket!" Chad looked down to see a steadily growing patch of flames on the blanket, the candle having been tipped over when he shoved the basket onto it.

"You've got to be kidding me," he murmured to himself before quickly standing up, tugging Sonny along with him. "Come on, we have to call the fire department or something. Do you have your cell phone on you? I think I left mine in the car, let's go - "

Sonny shook her head and put a finger to Chad's lips, making him fall silent almost instantly.

"Watch me." Sonny moved closer to the fire, and Chad barely restrained himself from jumping out and pulling her back. "Did you notice I still had this?" She held up her right hand, shaking the juice container before slowly pouring the rest of its contents onto the fire, dousing it.

The flames let out a hiss as they died, as if they were evil demons sent to torture Chad. They probably were.

"Chad? Why do you look so sad?" Sonny came over to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning her head against his chest. Chad automatically mirrored Sonny's actions, hugging her loosely. "Was it the fire? It's okay, it's gone now."

"No. No, it wasn't the fire," Chad assured her, sighing. "Or at least, it wasn't _just_ the fire. It was everything. I wanted tonight to go perfectly, and instead, we had cracker crumbs and sour grapes and cheese that was too soft, and then I set everything on fire, and now we have a juice-soaked blanket and our sandwiches are burnt."

"Well, it's not too bad," Sonny argued, closing her eyes. "We're on Lookout Mountain." Chad glanced up immediately, double-checking the stars. They ought to be the only thing still perfect.

"No way," he scoffed in disbelief. "The stars are gone." Sonny followed his gaze, blinking up at the sky.

"They're only covered by clouds, Chad, they're still there."

"But they're not here _now_," he complained, sounding like a child who hadn't gotten his way (and he hadn't, not at all).

"Well, why do you need them here _now_?" Chad wrinkled his nose in the adorable way that Sonny loved so well, frowning.

"Because I was going to kiss you tonight, under the stars! It was going to be _perfect_, and now it's not even close!" Sonny pulled away from him, her big brown eyes staring at him.

"You were going to kiss me?"

"Yes, and it was going to be under the stars and romantic and now it's all ruined." Chad kicked at a stone on the ground, watching it roll away into the plants. Stupid rock.

"Under the stars?" Sonny repeated, a smile creeping onto her face.

"Well, I was going for a kiss in the rain, but stars were the closest I could get to in the summertime. Besides, it's just as romantic and you don't have to get all disheveled," Chad reasoned, still failing to catch her eye. "But I guess not."

"And why would you have it be a kiss in the rain?" whispered Sonny, her eyes glowing now.

"Because I know you love cheesy things like that," Chad answered easily, a downcast expression on his face. "So much for that."

"Chad." Sonny used her hand to tilt his chin up so he could meet her gaze. "That's one of the sweetest things I've ever heard."

"...it is?" Chad's eyebrows shot up, bewildered.

"Yeah. It is," Sonny said softly before reaching up and kissing him, her arms entwining around his neck. Chad responded automatically, pulling her closer and keeping his hands on her waist.

"Wait. What just happened?" he asked a few seconds later, abruptly stopping to look straight into Sonny's twinkling eyes.

"I think we might have just kissed." She laughed, poking fun at him. "Or did you not know what that was?" Chad smirked back, leaning back in and touching his nose to hers.

"I don't think I remember. Remind me?"

"Of course. Oh!" Sonny exclaimed, pulling away slightly and rubbing the tip of her nose.

"What's wrong?" Chad's worried countenance made Sonny giggle as she held up her hand like a platform, palm facing the skies. A drop soon landed there, and Chad stared at it in amazement.

"You mean..."

"Yes. It's raining." A grin spread across Sonny's face. "It's perfect after all."

And Chad gently took her face in his hands and kissed her once more, their lips meeting as their clothes became heavier and slightly discolored, their hair lost its perfection, and they became drenched.

It was everything a kiss in the rain ought to be.

But better. Because when the clouds cleared half an hour later, they were left kissing under the stars.

With a burnt basket, inedible food, and a soaked blanket beside them.

It was _perfect_.

A/N: Ah, it's so fluffy! So cheesy and pointless! I've missed writing like this. ;) Angst is great, but it's fun writing fluff every so often. :D Well, tell me how you liked it! Please review. :)


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